Road semi-surfacing implement



Sept. 21, 1937.* o. A. RICH ROAD SEMISURFACING IMPLEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 26, 1935 NN Wm om lllll 13. n .2 .||L I O.A.RL'C]2/ BY QM um AITORNEY Sept. 21, 1937..

0. A. RICH ROAD SEMISURFACING IMPLEMENT Filed July 26, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR aARich BY Q Patented Sept. 21, 1937 UNITED STATES 2,093,766 ROAD SEMI-SURFACING IMPLEMENT Oliver A. Rich,

one-half to United Pat Bakersfield, Calif., assignor of cuts Inc., Modesto, Calif,

a corporation of California Application July 26, 1935, Serial No. 33,219

5 Claims.

This invention relates to road surfacing equipment and. is directed particularly to an implement for forming what is termed a semi-surface on a road.

In many instances where the travel over a road is relatively heavy but not sufficient to warrant the expense of paving the road with concrete or macadam, the road is surfaced with a mixture of crude oil and earth which, when spread over the road bed and rolled forms a very satisfactory surface. This is known as semi-surfacing and although it must be replaced every few years, it is much less expensive than true paving and prevents the road from being exceedingly dusty in summer while preventing the winter quagmire of totally unsurfaced roads.

In putting down a semi-surface however certain difficulties have arisen, especially in regard to the manner in which the oil and earth were mixed and spread over the road bed. It has been accomplished by first scraping the earth from the surface of the road bed into a ridge along the road and then spraying the oil over the earth ridge, and then scraping the mixture'back onto the road bed and subsequently rolling the same. In many instances this method of forming the oiled surface failed to completely mix the oil and earth which resulted in many surface failures causing bad spots in the road which had to be repaired. Further, this method required that the scraper go over the same portion of the road several times and that a separate piece of equipment had to be employed to spread the oil. This method was therefore not only more expensive than necessary but it required too much time in which to apply a semi-surface to a road. Of course, in order not to delay travel over a road, only one-half of the road was surfaced at'a time.

It is therefore my principal object to provide an implement which will of itself completely'form a semi-surface on a road with a single passage of the implement over any given portion of the road. On relatively narrow roads, the implement may completely surface the entire width of the road as it passes while on relatively wide roads only onehalf of the road will be surfaced at a time. However whatever width the implement is adapted to surface, the semi-surface over that width is accomplished rapidly with a single passage of the implement.

A further object of my invention is to provide an implement which will completely mix the loosened earth and oil preparatory to spreading the same over the road bed.

An additional object is to provide a road semisurfacing implement which is adjustable in order that the semi-surface applied to the road bed may be of a predetermined and desired thickness. This is an extremely advantageous feature due to the fact that the thickness of the semi-surface depends entirely on the firmness of the road bed and the amount of travel to which the road is to be subjected.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective forthe purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement 'of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding'parts in the several viewsr Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine as in operation.

Figure 2 is atop plan view of the same with the engine and its supporting frame removed.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudinal section of the machine on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. 1

Figures 4 and 5, are fragmentary transverse sections of the machine taken on the lines 4-4 and 5-5 respectively of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary section 6-6 of Figure 2.

Referring now more particularly to the'characters of reference on the drawings, the machine comprises a rectangular horizontal supporting frame i having a clevice 2 or the like at its forward end whereby it may be connected in trailing relation to an oil tank truck 3.

The frame is supported at the front end by castor wheels 4 and at its rear end by larger and relatively fixed-wheels 5; all the wheels being outwardly of the frame. The supporting forks 6 of the castor wheels'swivelly depend from on the line arms I which extend forwardly from a cross have shown the wheel controlling mechanism as:

comprising a hydraulic cylinder II extending lengthwise of the frame I and immovably mounted thereon in any suitable manner. The piston rod I2 from the piston I3 of the cylinder projects from both ends of the cylinder. At its rear end this rod is operatively connected to an arm I4 fixed on and upstanding from the shaft I0. At its forward end the rod I2 is connected to a cross pin I5 which slides in slotted links I6 projecting rearwardly from an arm I! fixed on and upstanding from the shaft 8.

When the forward end of the frame is in its lowest position, adjustable stops I8 mounted in' stop arms I811. on the shaft 8 engage the front cross bar of the frame I and prevent turning of the shaft 8 in a direction to relatively raise the front wheels 4. When the rear wheels 5 are raised relative to the frame, the piston I3 is adjacent the forward end of the cylinder I I andthe pin I5 is adjacent the forward end of the link slots. With the rearward movement of the piston rod I2 a relative lowering of the rear wheels immediately takes place. No corresponding movement is imparted to the front wheels however until the pin I5 engages the rear end of the link slots and exerts a pull on the links and the arm I! to turn the shaft 8 in a wheel lowering direction. The purpose of this particular arrangement will be seen later.

The control of the hydraulic fluid to either end of the cylinder selectively is of course accomplished by a suitable piping and control Valve arrangement V from a source of fiuid pressure; and since such equipment is common to all hydraulic apparatus and forms no part of my invention, it is not deemed necessary to illustrate or describe the same.

Journaled in boxes I9 secured to the sides of the frame I in depending relation thereto are the scarifier units, any suitable number of these rolls being used. These units extend the full distance between continuous skirt plates 20 secured to and depending from the inner faces of the sides of the frame I, and are set in' spaced relation lengthwise of the frame. Each unit is disposed on a level somewhat lower than the adjacent one in front so that said units as a whole are set with a downward slope from front to rear. Each unit comprises a shaft or central portion 2| having a spiral material cutting or scarifying blade 22 thereon, so that the units are in effect combination cutting augers, and conveyors, tending to cause the scarified material to travel toward one end of the rolls.

The blades 22 are disposed with alternately right and left hand pitch on the successive shafts, though they are all driven in the same forward direction. Such driving may be accomplished by suitable means, such as chain and socket units 23 connecting the various axial shafts 2I of the units at one end thereof and outwardly of the bearing boxes I9. One of said shafts'is driven by suitable means 24 and at a reduced speed from a power plant such as a gas engine 25 supported from the frame I above the rolls. It is to be understood thata change speed transmission is included in the drive connection between the engine and said shaft so that the speed of the units may be altered while maintaining the engine speed constant and as operating conditions may require.

Secured to and depending immediately behind the different units and extending the full length and to the level of the bottom thereof are vertical baflie plates 26, each having at one end only a relatively large opening 21 cut upwardly from the bottom and disposed at that end of the corresponding unit toward which the material will be moved by the rotation of said unit.

It will therefore be seen that with the rotation of the units and the advancing movement of said units along the ground as the machine advances, the material will be engaged and scarified to successively greater depths, and such material as loosened will be banked up against the corresponding baflie plates and fed toward one end of the units and plates. Since the units feed the material inalternately different directions on account of the alternately reversed pitch of the spiral blades 22, such material after arriving at and-passing through the opening 2? of one baffle plate will become immediately engaged with the adjacent end of the succeeding unit. This material is then mixed with that being scarified and loosened by such succeeding unit and all this ma terial will be conveyed toward the open end of said unit where it passes through the corresponding opening 27. This mixing and moving of the material back and forth continues, the volume of the material increasing of course at each unit, until all the materialpasses out through the opening 27 in the rearmost plate 26.

The material is then engaged and smoothed out by a leveler blade 28 extending the full width of the units and disposed with its forward edge at a transverse slant away from the adjacent opening 21. This blade is disposed at or adjacent the finished ground level and is provided with vertically slotted uprights 29 at its sides which engage and are secured to the side members of the frame I for vertical sliding movement as shown in Figure 6,- so that the level of the blade may be adjusted to suit. Such adjustment may be effected by any of the mechanisms commonly employed to adjust leveler blades.

In connection with the scarifying and mixing of the material in the manner above described oil is discharged onto the same so as to be mixed with the same in the following manner:

Leading from the tank truck 3 is an oil pipe 30, which includes a flexible detachable section 30a adjacent the truck so that connection may be readily made with different trucks. In operation each truck is filled with oil heated at a central heating plant, and when such truck is empty the pipe section 30a is disconnected, the empty truck detached from the machine and another truck having a fresh supply of hot oil connected to the machine with practically no delay. The pipe 30 is connected to the intake of a pressure pump 3| of suitable character driven by the engine 25. From the discharge side of the pump another pipe 32 leads to branch pipes 33 which extend over the scarifying units adjacent their ends and have nozzles 34 depending just back of the various openings 27, so as to discharge onto the materials passing through said openings. The main volume of oil as fed from the pump is controlled by a suitable valve 35 in the pipe 32; there being a by-pass 36 from the pipe 32 ahead of the valve to the intake side of the pump. Also individual valves 3'1. may be provided for the different nozzles to separately control the flow therethrough.

It will therefore be seen that an efficient scarifying and oil mixing action is had with one operation of the machine, and the materials are left behind the machine in a smooth condition ready for final rolling. Raising 0f the rear end of the necessitated by the fact that the rearmost scarifying units depend to a depth below the normal surface of the ground a greater distance than the front unit. A relatively great raising of the rear end of the frame is therefore required to clear the rear units for transportation, while at the same time only a slight raising of the front end of the frame is necessary or desired, in order not to unduly disturb the level of the connection of the machine with the truck ahead.

By manipulating the adjustable front wheel stops IS, the depth of cut of the front scarifying unit may be altered to suit different conditions.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A road working implement comprising a wheel supported frame adapted to be pulled along the ground, a plurality of longitudinally spaced transversely extending shafts turnably mounted on the frame, power means to drive the shafts all in the same direction, spiral blades projecting outwardly from and extending along the shafts and disposed in alternating right and left hand pitch relation on the different shafts, whereby the material as scarified will tend to be moved toward one end of the shafts, and plates mounted on the frame and depending adjacent and behind the various shafts to a level adjacent that of the bottom of the corresponding blades, said plates each having a material discharge opening projecting upwardly from the bottom at said one end of the corresponding shaft.

2. A structure as in claim 1, with means to discharge oil onto the material as it passes through the different plate openings.

3. A structure as in claim 1, with means mounted on the frame behind the rearmost shaft and plate to engage, level off, and transversely distribute the material discharged through the rearmost plate opening.

4. A structure as in claim 1, with a leveling blade mounted on the frame behind the rearmost plate; the forward edge of said blade having a transverse slope to the rear from the end thereof on the same side of the implement as the rearmost plate opening.

5. A road working implement comprising a wheel supported frame adapted to be pulled along the ground, a plurality of longitudinally spaced transverse shafts turnably mounted on the frame, power means to drive said shafts, scarifying units on the shafts arranged relative to the direction of rotation thereof to cause the material as scarified to be moved toward one side of the implement by the scarifying unit of one shaft and toward the opposite side of the implement by the units of adjacent shafts, and members mounted on the machine and extending along and between the various shafts and scarifying units to temporarily confine the material as scarified in the form of transversely extending rows; there being discharge openings in said members at the end thereof toward which the material is being moved by the corresponding scarifying units.

OLIVER A. RICH. 

